


I Don't Dance

by AquamanFan



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 13:51:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10992231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquamanFan/pseuds/AquamanFan
Summary: Three years after the end of High School Musical 3, Chad and Ryan bump into each other at a gay bar in New York. An attraction that started on the Lava Springs baseball field is now too intense to ignore. After spending years in the shadows of their more popular friends/siblings, Chad and Ryan finally get their own star-crossed romance.





	I Don't Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Updated February 12,2018

Part 1

The music pounded in the club, through the brick walls and out to the street where Chad stood, debating. He could feel the rhythm in his bones, the music he’d avoided for so long pulling at him, pulling him in. The music that brought back so many memories of a time now firmly in the past beside his dusty, foolish crush on his best friend.

“Dude. You coming?” Marybeth, the wannabe comedian called to him from the open door. The smokers on the sidewalk stared at him.

Chad nodded, took a deep, smoke filled breath, and followed her into the flashing, neon flooded club.

Inside there were men everywhere. Women too but Chad had finally admitted he wasn’t interested and barely noticed them. The men though...He’d never seen so much glitter or so many packages covered by such little fabric. He gulped and stuck close to Marybeth. She led them through the club, dancing her way through the crowd, occasionally making eyes with a hot chick or two, swaying her hips flirtatiously. Chad could only follow stiffly, trying to not freak out or come in his jeans and teetering on the edge of both.

As they reached the corner booth where the rest of his coworkers sat, Chad slid gratefully onto the seat beside Jenny, the very straight girl he’d been on a date with when he realized that dating girls just wasn’t cutting it anymore. She’d been cool about the whole thing and had become his closest work friend. Tonight she’d come as his support (and for the entertainment, of course).

“Hey,” she said, elbowing Chad in the ribs, “You flipping your shit yet?”

Chad could only nod. “So many men.” He managed to say, much louder than he’d intended. The whole booth heard and exploded into laughter. Chad grinned along with them, he wasn’t easily embarrassed, and he began to feel better.

So much so that when the waiter in the tight spandex came by to take their order he looked the guy up and down, but discretely. That was the secret Chad was less willing to share just yet. Coming out was hard enough, especially to the team. His parents and of course Troy had known for years and were just waiting for him to take his time. And he didn’t consider his being gay as the reason he stopped playing basketball, dropped out of school, and moved to New York City but it hadn’t helped matters. The point was, even the teammates who had understood expected him to be into bulky, jock guys. He’d grown and added muscle since high school and, even not playing basketball anymore, he looked like he could snap bones with his biceps. But, and he wasn’t totally ready to admit this to himself yet, he wasn’t into the big, burly type. He was all about the slim, flamboyant guys. The musical theater type. The guys who were all over New York and all over this club.

Chad felt his panic rise a bit again and looked around. His coworkers were chatting about something, yelling at each other over the music, but he couldn’t concentrate on them.

“You wanna dance?” Jenny said in his ear.

Chad jumped a little and turned to look at her. Did he want to dance? He hadn’t danced since...He didn’t dance. He’d left that part of himself behind, back in Albaquerque. But with the music pounding, good music too, his body couldn’t keep still.

Jenny must have read his internal conflict on his face because she rubbed the back of his hand and said, “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Chad shook his head. “No. Let’s go.”

Before he could change his mind he stood, grabbed Jenny’s hand and headed towards the mash of bodies on the dance floor. The table cheered and followed him out. They pushed their way onto the floor and next thing Chad new, his body had taken over and he was dancing with Jenny. Not the smooth, choreographed moves of his high school days, this was more akin to a close swaying motion - there wasn’t space for anything more. He swung Jenny around and she leaned back, allowing her hair to sweep out behind her, clearing the space around them. He could feel her body and knew instinctively where to move next. He guided her with his motions, his hands, light touches of his thighs against hers. Under other circumstances it would have been a very sexual dance but with Jenny it felt like a dance between seasoned partners, both attune to each other’s body movements.

Over Jenny’s shoulder he saw two guys dancing together, their gaze intense on each other, their bodies as close as they could be without having sex. Their movements were so intimate, so deeply connected and emotionally charge that Chad’s breath caught. He ached inside because, more than anything he wanted that.

He pulled back and looked around for where the bathroom was. Jenny gave him a confused look.

“I need a minute,” he mouthed to her.

She shrugged and went to dance in the mosh pit of coworkers.  

Chad turned away from the group, intending to shove his way out of the crowd if need be. Instead he smacked into someone. Hard.

“Sorry,” he muttered, trying to step around the guy and get back on track to his panic attack.

“Chad?” The voice that spoke was so familiar, a voice he hadn’t heard in years.

He at the guy in surprise. Before him stood a slim, tall guy with stylish blond hair that at the moment was slightly spiked and intentionally rumpled. His face was long and lean and he wore black t-shirt and the tightest skinny jeans Chad had ever seen, showing off the face that even though he was slim he was extremely fit. Despite the improved style and radiating sex appeal, he was undoubtably Ryan Evans.

"Ryan, Ryan Evans," Chad managed to say. 

Ryan did a little twirl. "That's the one. Wow, I haven't seen you in years. What's happening? How's life? What are you doing here?"

Chad gulped. He didn't have answers to any of those questions. Not ones that he wanted to share with this new, hot Ryan. Not after what had almost happened between them, that one time in the locker room. "Um, I need some air," he yelled over the music, looking frantically around for the front door. It was to his right and there was a sea of gyrating bodies between him and freedom. 

He didn't wait for Ryan to reply, just began making his way through the crowd, murmuring apologies as he stepped on toes and pushed people out of his way. Finally he reached the door, threw it open, and stumbled out onto the sidewalk. 

"Whoa there," said that familiar voice and strong arms grabbed him around his waist, catching his fall. 

Chad felt the world slowly come back into focus. The hands around his waist eased but didn't let him go. The skin where they touched him, even through his shirt, felt like it was on fire. He was distantly aware that off to one side the group of smokers was eyeing him curiously. That didn't matter now. 

Chad started to turn around and the hands left. He ached a little at their loss. 

"Sorry," Ryan said quickly when Chad faced him. 

Chad shook his head. "No. Um, thanks for catching me. I don't know what's going on with me tonight."

Ryan looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

Chad nodded this time. "I think so. Or I will be soon."

Ryan's concern turned to a grin. "Too much booze or... too much dancing?"

Chad had been about to deny the booze comment. He'd had what, one drink? But then the dancing thing caught him off guard. "What?"

Ryan's grin grew wider. "I saw you out there with that woman. I see you haven't lost your moves, Danforth."

Chad felt his face heat up. “Yeah, um, I don’t really dance.” 

“That’s not what I saw.”

“I mean apart from tonight. Normally. I don’t dance.”

Ryan scoffed. “Are we really having that old debate again?”

Chad didn’t know what to say. He shrugged. His mind felt blank. 

“Look. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other and for some reason seeing me has you all freaked out. Let’s just agree not to talk about what any of that real life stuff. I just need to know one thing.”

Chad nodded. Not talking about his life right now. That sounded good.

“That woman you were dancing with. Is she your girlfriend?”

Chad couldn’t say no fast enough. 

Ryan’s grin was back. “Good. Do you want to dance? With me, I mean.”


End file.
